Afterglow
by 43501
Summary: During the course of the investigation, Near had compiled reports concerning the Kira case. Whilst writing his final report, Near strays from summarizing the case and laments over the aftermath, and the death of Mello. Implied Mello/Near, sort of.


**Quick Author's Notes: **This is a piece I tried to pour my heart into. More than ever, guys, reviews, compliments and criticisms are appreciated (of course, I will review you back). By the way, when I estimated the death count, I went by the figure of Light writing about 200 criminal's names daily. Creepy, huh?

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**January 28****th****, 2010. It is about nine in the evening. The Kira case came to a close on this date. **

**A meeting had been arranged with the suspect, Light Yagami, for 1:00PM at the abandoned 'Yellow Box' warehouse. Suspect arrived with four members of the Japanese task force. Suspect's accomplice arrived at approximately 2:00PM and wrote the full names of the SPK members in the false Death Note (refer to December 2009 reports for full details). Suspect confessed to using the Death Note under the alias of Kira and was shot three times by a member of the Japanese task force. Suspect's accomplice committed suicide, penetrating a major artery with his pen whilst members of the SPK were busied with the suspect. Suspect escaped, but was later found dead on a staircase, presumably due to blood loss. Suspect pronounced dead at exactly 2:13PM.**

**Estimated death toll during the seven-year period amounts to around 25 million based on evidence we've gathered. Light Yagami had single-handedly claimed more lives than Adolf Hitler and his army during the Holocaust. **

**My close associates were partly constitutive of this figure: L, Quillish Wammy, Mail Jeevas, and Mihael Keehl, more commonly known as Mello. Many of my early SPK associates were claimed by Kira also, and as was Naomi Misora and her fiancée. **

**While Kira's reign has ended today, I do not feel as satisfied as I had hoped. I am well aware that the people of the world will feel shocked as they slowly come to the realization that Kira is gone, when the mass executions have long ceased. I fear that Kira has many followers who will attempt to carry on his work. **

**Or, perhaps, I am just unsettled that a large number of people I knew quite well have passed. **

**On December the 13****th****, 2009, I had allowed Mello into the SPK headquarters. That was the last time I saw him. I was in possession of his only photograph – one of the many things he'd left behind at the orphanage in his rush when he set out – and he wanted it back. There were too many things about that encounter that perplexed me: how he hesitated long and hard when I gave him permission to shoot me, how he offered me a tidbit that helped piece the puzzle of the Kira case together, how he smiled cockily as he left.**

**He had promised me that he would win this race and be the first to catch Kira, and the prospect amused me. Truthfully, I now wish he had.**

**The possessions from his temporary residence were brought back to the SPK headquarters at around 4:00PM. He and Matt did not accumulate much: television sets, recording equipment, basic furniture, Matt's videogames, some clothes, several journals and books written by Mello's own hand and some other items. What caught my attention was the photograph: it was as if it had returned to me.**

**Just as we had burned the Death Notes earlier to ensure the Kira case could never repeat, I burned the photo of Mello, casting an air of finality over his death, giving myself the closure. Perhaps it seemed silly, but it was the sentiment. As I watched it char and slowly disintegrate into ashes, I couldn't help but feel a deep sense of loss: not only for Mello, L or anyone else I knew, but for the world. I shudder to think of how many mothers lost their sons, how many people lived under the constant, invisible fear of being hunted by Kira, how many people Kira imbued with his will. And, for the first time since I was very young, I cried. **

**It was at that moment I realized that the afterglow wasn't a beautiful sensation as I'd hoped – basking in glory as though a game had been won – but a black, dull aftermath. Long have I followed harrowing, awful criminal cases: there are much crueler, slower, more painful ways to die, but it never really bothered me before. It never bothered me until it happened to the man who took me under his wing and cared for me, or to the man I spent most of my life trying to be, or to the boy I long enjoyed competing with and felt a certain attachment to.**

**Of course I mean Mello. Yes, many of those tears were indeed for Mello, although I cannot explain how or why. To an onlooker, I was indifferent and level, he was forever attempting to outdo me, driven mad at the prospect of only being the 'second best'. But the truth is, I never felt it that way, and neither did L. Both L and I were aware that Mello and I needed to be together to be effective: our synergy – on the rare occasion we did share a rare moment of mutual understanding and co-operation – was awe-inspiring and Godlike. With him gone, I have to admit I feel hopelessly lost and isolated all of a sudden. This must be what they call loneliness, but I'm not sure; I've never felt lonely. Not until now, anyway.**

**I apologize for digressing. With that, I now pronounce the Kira case closed and hereby leave this document as my achievement.**


End file.
